On February 5, 2015, Congressman Bob Goodlatte reintroduced the “Innovation Act”; a bill designed to implement several changes to the legal framework governing United States patent law. The law is designed to make it more...more

New Jersey businesses may face increased litigation if proposed legislation to bar mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts is made law. The proposed bill – recommended for passage by the Assembly Consumer Affairs...more

Under the Dome: Inside the Maine State House provides a high-level overview of recent activity at the Maine State House.
Public Hearings on Governor’s Tax Reform Proposal Complete -
This week, the Appropriations...more

Raise in Consumption Tax Rate Postponed -
On November 18, 2014, Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, officially announced that the increase of the consumption tax rate which was originally planned to occur in October...more

NUMBER OF THE WEEK: $160,000. The value of one gift bag at the Oscars on Sunday night. According to the Internal Revenue Service, contents of the gift bags cannot be treated as gifts for federal income tax purposes because...more

Just prior to leaving Washington for official travel at the end of last week, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) told reporters that he is in constant touch with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew with respect...more

To get a P3 proposal to the starting line, public officials need to make sure that there is clarity and agreement on basic issues and priorities -
Aging and inadequate infrastructure, required upgrades and scarce...more

Ten key changes to US sanctions and export regulations for Cuba.
On January 15, 2015, the Departments of the Treasury and Commerce revised the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (CACR) and the Export Administration...more

On February 11, 2015, the United States filed a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that certain actions by the national, regional and local governments of the People’s Republic of China are in...more

As a follow up to our summary of the key takeaways from the White House’s first Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection, the centerpiece of which was President Obama’s signing of a new Executive Order, “Promoting...more

The Administration introduced the “Revenue Modernization Act” on February 11 in the Senate Finance Committee, and the proposal includes numerous modifications to all Tennessee’s major taxes, including economic nexus,...more

The EU has extended its sanctions in relation to Ukraine by adding 19 persons and nine entities to the asset freeze list. These newly designated parties are deemed to be actively involved in separatist activities in Eastern...more

In every odd-numbered year the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is required to adjust certain contribution limits, expenditure limits, and the lobbyist bundling disclosure threshold by indexing them to inflation. ...more

On 9 February 2015, the EU Foreign Affairs Council imposed new sanctions - asset freezes and travel bans - against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 9 entities that have been added to the 'black list' of sanctioned...more

Since the expiration of a labor contract in July 2014, negotiations for a new contract have dragged on between management representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA)—a multi-employer bargaining association...more

If spending is a good indicator of shifting priorities for both business and government, then cybersecurity is quickly becoming priority number one.
Last week, the White House announced a proposed 10 percent increase...more

On February 2nd, President Obama released his Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress. Along with the budget, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released a volume called “General Explanations of the...more

The Delaware Legislature appears to have heard some of the complaints of the unclaimed property community. Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed Senate Bill 11, which is based on the recommendations of the Delaware Task Force...more

We conclude our discussion of the July 21, 1970 debate on the Pension Protection Clause at the Illinois Constitutional Convention. Today, we’ll take a look at more statements by opponents of the measure, the summations by...more

Earlier this week, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) released an update on the status of Draft Rule G-42, which outlines the duties of non-solicitor municipal advisors. The MSRB indicated that it has further...more

In This Issue:
- President Obama Presses For Advancement Of Trade Deals During State Of The Union
- U.S. Sanctions Updates
- Keystone Pipeline Debate Continues After Congress Approves Bill
News Of...more

2014 was a very eventful year for sanctions, with both the European Union (EU) and United States (US) making extensive use of trade sanctions to attain foreign policy goals. Certain sanctions measures against Iran were (and...more